Chapter 10 - Learning More

James settled back into his desk after Cadence left and reviewed his email and work calendar. It would be busier than most Fridays, since some of his meetings from Thursday had been pushed back a day. Still, he had a little time to reflect on what had just transpired. In general, he felt good about his decision, but a couple of things unsettled him. He'd never heard Cadence talk so passionately about something she hated. In fact, he couldn't remember her ever voicing a declaration of hate for anything. He could certainly understand her dislike for cliche group dance music, but the unexpected information made him realize that he didn't truly know much about Cadence. Outside of work, he had little idea what she was like. Was she a morning person? What kind of television did she like to watch? Did she like animals? He couldn't answer any of these questions. He decided his main priority in his spare time should be to get to know his future wife as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

The, next, and arguably more complicated issue was something James had been trying very hard to ignore. He had suddenly, within the course of twenty-four hours, developed an attraction to Cadence. Even worse, this attraction seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. When he shook her hand this morning, he'd immediately felt an electric tingling in his palm which radiated up his arm and into his chest. He had no idea what to do about it. For the moment, he decided to continue his current strategy of ignoring his feelings for her. To him, that seemed like the safest option. Instead, he would focus on getting to know Cadence better so that they could be convincing as a genuine couple.

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For Cadence, Friday morning had been a steady bustle of replying to emails, attending meetings, and making phone calls. Despite the uncomfortable heat on Thursday, it had been nice to spend a day at the office that wasn't jam-packed with appointments and conferences. It was almost time for lunch and she'd mostly caught up on the work leftover from yesterday. So, she took this opportunity to reflect on the two newest developments in her life. One, Cadence was going to marry her boss, James Oliver, CEO of Oliver Enterprises. And two, she would be submitting her two weeks notice of resignation as soon as their marriage contract was signed. By this time tomorrow, she would be moving in with him. She'd never lived with a man before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. She had no brothers and had never even met her father. She'd taken some ibuprofen a while ago, but the headache from earlier was starting to resurface. Cadence took a moment to close her eyes and press the pads of her fingers into her temples, making small circles. This was something she'd seen her mother do a lot during her teenage years and she was pleased to find it relieve some of the tension.

When she opened her eyes, Cadence found James standing in front of her, looking quizzical. She blinked a few times to make sure she was in fact awake, and not having another dream about her handsome boss (and soon-to-be husband). She rested her hands in her lap and sheepishly said "Sorry…just had a little headache". James merely nodded, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. "Do you need something, sir?" she asked with a bit of concern. He was the most confident person she knew, but recently he seemed different. He was somehow more hesitant and lost looking. She wondered if he was more affected by the news of his grandfather's upcoming surgery than he was letting on. With this thought, she mentally kicked herself for focusing so much on the marriage issue. Of course he was affected! She wasn't privy to all the details of their relationship but she certainly knew enough to realize that Charles Oliver had been more of a father figure to James than his actual father. She had no idea how to help him though. Finally, James cleared his throat and asked "Would you like to have lunch with me?" Cadence had not expected this question, but what he was suggesting made sense. They needed to start spending more time together immediately. A simple lunch seemed like a good start. "Sure, but um, I've brought my lunch with me today. Would you like to share it? There's plenty, I promise." She was sure he had planned on taking her to a restaurant, but she hated wasting food and figured they could find more privacy eating in the office. Without too much consideration, James said "Sure, that sounds perfect. See you in my office in fifteen minutes. Can I grab you anything from the cantina downstairs?" Cadence smiled and said "Sweet tea and some napkins please, sir." James returned her smile with one of his own and nodded before heading off.

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James was happy to see Cadence had already made herself comfortable in his office. She was sitting on the loveseat again, busy divvying up the contents of her lunch bag. He recognized the discarded wrapping and knew she'd brought another sandwich from his favorite deli. "What do we have today, dear?" he asked, startling himself with his unplanned use of the affectionate term. Before he could apologize, Cadence suddenly laughed inappropriately long and hard at what he had not intended to be a joke. Hell, he hadn't intended to say it at all. She finally calmed down and explained "I'm sorry. So sorry. You calling me 'dear' just caught me by surprise, you know? Like suddenly, it's all becoming real and I feel completely ridiculous. I mean, I've still been calling you sir all day and we're supposed to move in together tomorrow. You're already diving into character and I'm just over here slacking off. I'll do better - I promise!" James was relieved to find Cadence giving him way more credit than he deserved. She was definitely going to be a good wife, even if just a pretend one for him. "Okay, to answer your question, we've got Jerry's Italian sub with cherry peppers, pita chips with sun dried tomato hummus, blueberries, and a butterscotch brownie to share" she said breaking the brownie neatly in half and seeming to purposely give herself the bigger piece. This made him laugh inside. She had clearly given him the larger serving of just about every other item, except the dessert. He set their drinks and napkins on the table before sitting down in his arm chair.

Initially, they focused on eating, only occasionally talking about the food or work related topics. James felt nervous and wasn't sure how to steer their conversation into more personal territory. Luckily, Cadence did the initial work for him. "I know we'll be pretty busy tomorrow, but I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with my mother and I on Sunday. I plan to tell her what's going on tonight, but I know she'll want to meet you as soon as possible." A little too eagerly, James said "Absolutely! There's an Irish pub downtown that has excellent food and they don't get too busy at lunch time. Do you think she would like that?" James observed a very pleased expression on Cadence's face at his enthusiasm. "Wow, you're acting like she really is going to be your mother-in-law! I know what place you're talking about. We go there at least once a month. It will be perfect. She'll be happy to know I'm marrying someone who shares our love of food" she said, looking relaxed for the first time that day. Trying to keep the momentum going, James said "So, what is your mother like? You mentioned being close, so I'm curious." Cadence's eyes lit up. This was clearly a good topic. "She's awesome! She's the strongest, kindest person I know. She's always been really supportive of me. We didn't have a lot growing up, but she always found away to make things special. She even taught herself cake decorating so that I could have a beautiful birthday cake every year. She got so good at it, she started selling them to friends and coworkers. Now she runs Peggy Cakes in South Austin" she bragged, clearly very proud of her mother. Now he knew why Cadence always insisted on ordering from Peggy Cakes anytime they needed dessert for a party. Not that James minded, as everything he tried from that bakery was consistently beautiful and delicious. James let Cadence continue, not wanting to interrupt the flow of information. It was the most enjoyable lunch he'd had in a very long time. The hour flew by as Cadence chattered on, sharing little stories about her mom that led to more stories. When it came time to return to work, James realized he was genuinely looking forward to having her move in with him.